Automatic furnace-door opener.



PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

W. GOWIN. AUTOMATIC FURNACE DOOR OPENER.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 18, 1903 N0 MODEL.

wufinessea Inventor 5 door is in this open position.

UNITE STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

WVILLIAM GOlVIN, OF DEXTER, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC FURNACE-DOOR OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,561, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed November 18, 1903. Serial No. 181,605. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM GOWIN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Dexter, in the county of Dallas and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Furnace-Door Openers, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device for automatically opening the door of a furnace by means of a lever upon which the operator places his foot.

A further object is to provide a device of this class of extremely simple, durable, and inexpensive construction which can be easily and readily attached to any furnace-door in .use, thus obviating the construction of an entirely new door, which is necessary in the use of some devices of similar nature. This device relates to that class of inventions in which no motive power is essential for operating it other than the pressure of the foot of the fireman or other person who is shoveling coal into the fire-box of the furnace or engine.

A further object is to provide a latch for locking the furnace-door in a closed position and, further, to provide a device in which the door will be swung from an open to a closed position automatically and without the assistance of an operator.

The further objects of this device are deemed unnecessary, as there have been so many devices of this class constructed, but with very different and more expensive mechanism than the one disclosed and claimed by me.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction. arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the furnacedoor, showing my device for operating said furnace-door. Fig. 2 is a rear side elevation of my device, showing its position relative to the door of the furnace or engine. In dotted lines in Fig. 2 I have shown the furnace-door in an open position. This view shows the position of the parts of my device when the Fig. 3 is atop or plan view of the furnace-door with my opener attached. The rear portion of the opener is cross-sectioned to show the relative parts of the device which swings the door from an open to a closed position. A portion of the platform is shown and is broken away to show the position of the lever which the operator swings on its pivot to open the door; and Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View of the hinge of the furnace-door, showing the position of the parts of the device which cause the door to be opened and closed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral 10 to indicate the front portion of the boiler or furnace to which my device is to be attached.

The reference-numeral 11 indicates the platform in front of said furnace-door, to which the operating lever is pivotally mounted. Firmly attached to the outside of the furnace and adjacent to the rear side of the furnacedoor opening is a sleeve 12, which is substantially circular in shape at its top and bottom portions 13 and 14. Firmly mounted in an opening which extends through the top portion 18 and extending upwardly from it is the bearing 15. Firmly mounted in an opening in the bottom portion 1 1 of the sleeve 12 and extending downwardly therefrom is the hearing 16. Rotatably mounted on the bearing 16 is the hinge 18 of said door, said hinges being attached to the outside of the furnacedoor in the ordinary way. Rotatably mountshaft 19 at its lower limit of movement. The

inner portion of the sleeve 12 is cut away at 21 to allow for the upward and rearward movement of the device for tripping the lever, which looks the door in a closed position, which is to be more fully described hereainfter.

Extending'from the lower forward end of the sleeve 12 to the upper rear end of said sleeve is thecurred slot 22. Mounted on the shaft 19 and at a point a slight distance above the bearing 14 when the shaft 19 is at its lower limit of movement is the collar 23, having the forwardly-extending lug 24L thereon. lug extends in front of the collar 23 and is designed to slide vertically of the rear end of the furnace-door 25, to which the hinges 17 are attached. Extending outwardly from the collar 23 when the shaft 19 is at its lower limit of movement is the bearing 26, said bearing being designed to enter the curved slot 22 in the sleeve 12. Mounted on the bearing 26 is a roller 27, designed to engage the edges of the curved slot 22 as it moves.

upwardly and downwardly in said slot. Pivotally attached to the outside of the door 25 by means of the pivot 28 is a locking-lever having the rear portion 29 in engagement with the upper portion of the lug 24: and having a forward portion 30 in engagement with the catch 31 when the furnace-door is in a closed position. This lever is designed to normally hold the door in a closed position. The rear end 29 of this locking-lever is heavier than the forward end 30, and for that reason said rear end is normally held in engagement with the lug 24 and the forward end is normally held at its upper limit of movement and in engagement with the lug 24, and the forward end is normally held at its upper limit of movement and in engagement with the catch 31 when the door is in a closed position.

It will be seen that as the shaft 29 is moved upwardly the lug 24 will be moved upwardly and will consequently cause the forward end 30 of the lever to be swung out of engagement with the catch 31. The shaft 19 will be rotated on account of the roller 27 engaging the upper edge of the slot 22, and thus cause the forward end of the ,lug 24L to move outwardly a slight distance and into engagement with the brace 32, upon the inner face of which said lug is designed to move, thus causing the door to be swung from a closed to an open position as the shaft 19 is moved vertically and is rotated.

Extending downwardly from the platform 11 is a lug 33. Extending across said platform and pivotally, attached to said lug 33 is the operating-lever 34:, having the pedal 35 extending upwardly from its outer end and through the platform 11, so that said pedal extends a slight distance above the platform when the rear outer end of the lever is in a raised position. In the inner end of the lever 34' the shaft 19 is rotatably mounted, so that by bracing the outer end of the lever 35 downwardly the shaft 19, which is rotatably mounted, will be raised upwardly and will cause the door to be drawn from a closed to an open position.

In practical operation and assuming that the parts are assembled as above described and that the furnace-door is in a closed position Said be thrown out of engagement with the catch the operator obtains his shovclful of coal, places his foot upon the pedal 35, causes the outer end of the lever 3a to move clownwardly, and thus causes the shaft to be moved upwardly and rotated and the locking-lever to 31 and the door to be swung from its closed to its open position. As soon as the operator has deposited his shovelful of coal through the furnace-door opening he removes his foot from the pedal 35, and the weight 20 will cause the shaft 19 to be drawn downwardly, and thus close the furnace-door 25. The locking-lever will swing to its normal position and lock the furnace-door in its closed position. It is to be understood in connection with the use of this device that it can be used on railroad-engines and is especially devised for this purpose; but I desire it to be understood that it can be used in connection with any of the ordinary furnaces.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. In a device of the class described, a door, a sleeve having a curved slot in the periphery thereof, mounted at the rear of the door and between its hinges, a shaft rotatabl y and slidingly mounted, extending vertically of said sleeve, a lug mounted on said shaft and partially inside of said sleeve, a roller mounted on said lug and extending into said slot, a bar extending vertically of said door and outside of said lug, and means attached to said shaft for opening and closing the door.

2. In a device of the class described, a door, a sleeve having a curved slot in the periphery thereof mounted at the rear of the door and between its hinges, a shaft rotatably and slidingly mounted, extending vertically of said sleeve, a lug mounted on said shaft and partially inside of said sleeve, a roller mounted on said lug and extending into said slot, a bar extending vertically of said door and outside of said lug, a weight on said shaft designed to cause it to move downwardly and close the door, and means for raising the shaft from its lower limit of movement.

3. In a device of the class described, a door, a sleeve having a curved slot in the periphery thereof, mounted at the rear of the door and between its hinges, a shaft rotatably and slidingly mounted, extending vertically of said sleeve, a lug mounted on said shaft and partially inside of said sleeve, a roller mounted on said lug and extending into said slot, a bar extending vertically of said door and outside of said lug, means attached to said shaft for opening and closing the door, and means controlled by said lug for holding the door in its closed position.

4. In a device of the class described, a door, a sleeve having a curved slot in the periphery thereof, mounted at the rear of the door and between its hinges, a shaft rotatably and slidingly mounted, extending vertically of said sleeve, a lug mounted on said shaft'and partially inside of said sleeve, a roller mounted on said lug and extending into said slot, a bar extending vertically of said door and outside of said lug, means attached to said shaft for opening and closing the door, a pivotallymounted lever designed to move the shaft upwardly for opening the door, and a weight for drawing the shaft downwardly to close the door.

5. In a device of the class described, a door, a sleeve having a curved slot in the periphery thereof, mounted at the rear of the door and between its hinges, a shaft rotatably and slidingly mounted, extending vertically of said sleeve, a lug mounted on said shaft and partially inside of said sleeve, a roller mounted on said lug and extending into said slot, a bar extending vertically of said door and outside of said lug, means attached to said shaft for opening and closing the door, a pivotallymounted lever designed to move the shaft up- Witnesses:

L. H. JoNEs, G. W. BALES. 

